Chick-In Waffle

Chick-In Waffle is Dennis Alazzeh’s Kansas City chicken-and-waffle concept — the Westport launch in January 2020 of a second-generation KC restaurant family. Dennis grew up working alongside his father Farid Alazzeh at Jerusalem Cafe, the Kansas City Middle Eastern institution Farid founded in 1990. When Farid retired and passed the Jerusalem Cafe baton to his brother, Dennis took the original Jerusalem Cafe Westport space and built Chick-In Waffle from a waffle iron his wife Sara brought home during her pregnancy. The brand now operates five-plus locations in the KC metro, a commissary in Independence, and a franchise in the West Bank.

Description

Chick-In Waffle is Dennis Alazzeh’s Kansas City chicken-and-waffle brand — a concept rooted in the city’s restaurant soil by a second-generation KC food family. Dennis grew up working at his father Farid Alazzeh’s Jerusalem Cafe locations from age 10 through his college years at the University of Missouri. When Farid retired and his brother took over Jerusalem Cafe, there was a year remaining on the original Westport Road lease. Dennis and his wife Sara took it. Sara had come home one night during her pregnancy with a new Amazon waffle iron and a craving for fried chicken on a waffle; the “Spicy Chick” was born in their kitchen. Six months later they had a name, a logo, and a menu. Chick-In Waffle opened at 515 Westport Rd in January 2020 — the same space where Dennis’s father had first served Jerusalem Cafe’s guests. The brand has since grown to five-plus locations across the KC metro with a commissary kitchen and headquarters in Independence and an overseas franchise location in the West Bank. A Power & Light District mashup concept (combining Jerusalem Cafe, Chick-In Waffle, and a sober bar) was announced in 2025.

Tier classification

Tier 1 — KC-born/raised, confirmed. Dennis Alazzeh grew up in the Kansas City area, working at Jerusalem Cafe locations from age 10 through college. He attended the University of Missouri (in-state). He built Chick-In Waffle in Westport and expanded it entirely within the KC metro. His father Farid Alazzeh founded Jerusalem Cafe in 1990, making the Alazzeh family a 35-year KC restaurant legacy. Dennis is the second-generation manifestation of that legacy — a KC native who turned his family’s food knowledge and a moment of pregnancy-inspired home cooking into a multi-location KC brand. Tier 1 confirmed.

Menu

Last verified: 2026-06-30 · Source: chick-in-waffle.com¹, Startland News² · menu_status: partial · Confidence: Medium (signature items confirmed; full current menu and pricing)

Chicken & Waffles

• Spicy Chick — original signature; fried chicken on a waffle; created from Sara Alazzeh’s pregnancy craving²

Sides

Sourcing

Pricing

• Price tier: low

Sources

Footnotes

1. Chick-In Waffle — official website — https://chick-in-waffle.com/ — Confirms: Dennis Alazzeh (owner); Chick-In Waffle; chick-in-waffle.com; KC metro locations; chicken-and-waffle concept. (Accessed 2026-06-30.) ↩

2. Startland News — “His family-fried waffle spot is open for cheat day (but not breakfast); How Dennis Alazzeh played chicken with restaurant trends and won” (October 2024) — https://startlandnews.com/2024/10/chick-in-waffle/ — Confirms: Dennis Alazzeh (owner/founder); Sara Alazzeh (co-creator, original recipe); born into restaurant business; worked Jerusalem Cafe from age 10 through college; Farid Alazzeh (father) founded Jerusalem Cafe 1990; Dennis took original Westport Rd Jerusalem Cafe space; opened January 2020; “Spicy Chick” origin story (Sara’s pregnancy waffle iron); grew up in KC. (Accessed 2026-06-30.) ↩ ↩²